Oil paintings exhibition at Aviation Museum

To the untrained eye, they appear as simple oil on canvas representations of military aircraft in flight but for aviation artists Charles Stafrace and Godfrey Mangion a single detail in a painting can make it or break it.

"The artist's curiosity and his eye for detail are what make aviation art so interesting. Our paintings are not haphazard representations of any plane used during World War II. Our aim was to capture the moment by combining details that identify particular combat planes used in Malta at that time, together with a recreation of the Maltese landscape in the 1930s and 1940s," explained Mr Stafrace and Mr Mangion.

One of Mr Stafrace's paintings that forms part of an exhibition put up at the Aviation Museum in Ta' Qali, for example, depicted the famous First Kill - one of Malta's Royal Air Force biplanes, flown by Lt George Burges, that notched the first Italian plane in flight.

"At the beginning of the war, these biplanes were too slow and this made it difficult to catch enemy aircraft. So the pilots had to reach higher altitudes and dive down in order to attack the enemy," the artists explained.

Mr Mangion said each painting entailed weeks of research since this ensured that the representations were accurate and historically precise.

"We were no art experts at the time but we gradually improved," they said, explaining that they used both oils and acrylics in their paintings.

Initially, the passion for aviation had motivated Mr Stafrace and Mr Mangion to start building model aircraft. What fascinated them most at the time, they said, were not just the models of the aircraft they built but also the colourful and detailed box tops in which they bought the models. "This is what really motivated us to start painting," they said.

Their passion for aircraft started long ago, when, as teenagers who dreamt that they could fly one of the military aircraft they watched from the roof of a water reservoir in Luqa, the two friends became keen aircraft modellers and artists. Little did they know that their passion would lead to the foundation of the Malta Aviation Society. Made up of other aviation enthusiasts, the society organises the Malta international airshow.

The exhibition, surrounded by some examples of restored aircraft housed at the Aviation Museum, will be open for public viewing until the end of summer.